Regulations widen the pool of expert ivory assessors – Propertymark

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Three new museums are set to join the list of bodies that can advise the Animal and Plant Health Agency on applications for exemption certificates under the Ivory Act 2018. If an owner wants to sell ivory-containing items which were made before 1918 and are of outstandingly high artistic, cultural, or historic value, they must be expertly assessed by recognised institutions.
The Ivory Prohibitions (Exemptions) (Process and Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 will come into force on 15 May 2025, adding;
to the list of prescribed institutions with the necessary knowledge and expertise to provide the Secretary of State with advice on applications for exemption certificates.
The existing nine prescribed institutions are:
The Act bans any individual, business, or organisation in the UK from buying, selling, hiring, importing or exporting ivory, or being involved with ivory dealing in any way
Initially, only ivory from African and Asian elephants fell under the ban, but from 28 January 2025, this was extended to ivory from common hippopotamuses, killer whales, narwhals, and sperm whales by the Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of "Ivory" and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025.
Propertymark’s comprehensive fact sheet for auctions division members explains the details of the legislation and how agents can stay compliant.
Standard exemptions exist under the Ivory Act for musical instruments made before 1975 with less than 20% ivory by volume, items made before 3 March 1947 with less than 10% ivory by volume, and portrait miniatures made before 1918 with a total surface area of no more than 320 square centimetres.
Exemptions are also included for items a qualifying museum intends to buy or hire, and items made before 1918 that are of outstandingly high artistic, cultural or historical value.
The registration process for an exemption costs £20 per item or £50 for a group of objects (up to a maximum of 20). Owners wishing to sell under the ‘outstanding artistic, cultural or historical value’ exemption must pay a fee of £250 and submit details to a committee of museum specialists for assessment.
Items that cannot legally be sold can be kept for personal use, lent, given as gifts, or bequeathed in a will, if no payment, exchange or barter is involved.
Both civil and criminal sanctions are available for breaches of the Ivory Act. Less serious offences may be subject to stop notices, enforcement undertakings, or financial penalties up to £250,000.
Criminal convictions could result in unlimited fines and up to five years' imprisonment.
Products which include ivory from seals, walrus, and sea lions are subject to a separate ban and are enforced by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
These products must not be brought into England, Scotland or Wales unless they meet one of two specific exemptions. Non-compliance can attract fines of up to £75,000.
Northern Ireland follows the comparable EU regime for seal products.
In December 2018, one of the world’s toughest bans on ivory sales became law as the Ivory Bill gained Royal Assent and became the Ivory Act 2018
Trading in ivory from the common hippopotamus, killer whale, narwhal and sperm whale will now be banned under The Ivory Act 2018 (Meaning of “Ivory” and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025. The new legislation was originally laid in parliament in May 2023, under the previous UK Government, but implementation has been delayed due to a lack of parliamentary time.
Hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca) and sperm whale will receive greater legal protections under the UK’s world-leading ban on importing, exporting and dealing in items containing ivory.
The purpose of the Ivory Act is to prohibit commercial activities concerning ivory in the UK and the import and re-export of ivory for commercial purposes to and from the UK. This includes intra-EU trade to and from the UK.
The near-total ban on the import, export and dealing of items containing elephant ivory comes into force today, 6 June 2022, which puts the UK at the forefront of global conservation efforts.
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